Fotografía

It’s not every city that turns itself over to photography on an annual basis, but Havana has been hosting Noviembre Fotográfico for more than a decade. As the month draws to a close, Lidia Hernández Tapía looks at some of the notable exhibitions and events.

Among the 70+ exhibitions about Latin America scheduled for “Pacific Time: LA/LA,” one of the most interesting—and potentially controversial—is Cuba Is, opening September 9 at the Annenberg Space for Photography. Curator Iliana Cepero talks about the show and its unflinching take on contemporary Cuban realities. "It's not the Cuba that appears in the tourist brochures,” she says.

In photography, the new era found an ideal tool for transmitting its aesthetic and political values. With that in mind, it is surprising to find, in the second half of the century, a comparatively small number of women photographers. Here, Aldeide Delgado continues the history of women photographers in Cuba.

In 1899, the Cuban Census reported seven women photographers in the entire country. But within a few years, their numbers started to grow. Here, Aldeide Delgado uncovers their hidden history in the first half of the 20th century.

This fall, Cuban writer Leonardo Padura marked the half-century since the 1966 publication of Paradiso, the controversial novel by poet José Lezama Lima. As a tribute to Lezama and his extensive oeuvre, curator and critic Silvia Llanes reflects on the encounter, in the Havana of 1969, between the poet and a young photographer, Iván Cañas Boix.

In 1967, more than a hundred international artists sent work—or arrived themselves—for an unprecedented event in Havana. At the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, La Gran Espiral marks the 50th anniversary of the Salón de Mayo.

From top-tier Chelsea galleries to venerable Miami strongholds and intrepid Havana outposts, Cuban art is turning up in more and more Art Week booths—especially at the flagship Art Basel Miami Beach. Here’s our roundup of where to see Cuban art in the 2017 fairs.

Art Week starts early for Cuban art, with the first exhibition openings this Friday and more shows already running in museums and galleries around town. Here’s a roundup of shows to catch before—and during—the fairs.